In all cultures and regions, the concept of health varies, based on the type of environment and prevalent sociocultural traditions. The present study is conducted among the Lepchas of the village of Lingthem divided into two sectors—Upper and Lower Lingthem, Upper Dzongu, North Sikkim. This population comprising Buddhist Lepchas residing away from the mainstream through poor infrastructural facilities still maintain ethnomedical health care practices without influence of major Indian healing systems. Living in the area of Dzongu exclusively inhabited by Lepchas revival of ancient cultural practices is evident among Lepchas of Lingthem. The structure of religious beliefs prevalent among the Lepchas, including traditional animistic as well as Buddhist practices, greatly influence forms of treatment sought for specific ailments. Even today, the use and maintenance of traditional health care with syncretized Buddhist religious belief among residents of Lingthem act as a vital source for understanding the influence of religion on traditional health care practices. Despite the presence of a few modern health care agencies, the traditional treatment of Bongthing (Lepcha shaman) and Buddhist monks remain widely popular as primary means of health care.

在所有文化和地区，健康的概念都根据环境类型和流行的社会文化传统而有所不同。本研究是在Lingthem村的Lepchas中进行的，该Lepchas分为两个部分-北部锡金州上Dzongu的上部和下部Lingthem。由佛教Lepchas组成的这个人口通过差劲的基础设施而远离主流，仍然保持着民族道德的医疗保健习惯，而不受主要印度康复系统的影响。Lingthem的Lepchas居住在Dzongu地区，那里是Lepchas复兴古代文化习俗的唯一居住地。Lepcha族中普遍存在的宗教信仰结构，包括传统的泛灵论和佛教习俗，极大地影响了针对特定疾病的治疗形式。即使在今天，Lingthem居民中融合了佛教宗教信仰的传统保健的使用和维护，是了解宗教对传统保健习惯的影响的重要来源。尽管有一些现代的卫生保健机构，但是奉奉（僧侣僧人）和和尚的传统治疗方法仍被广泛接受为主要的卫生保健方法。